I will admit, I was at first hesitant to approach politics with my writing this week, as it's hardly been the road less traveled within the past year. However, the unfortunate part about being a writer is that you always have an opinion that ends up getting shared, regardless of its controversiality. More than that, I truly value the idea of sharing your perspective with others. It's the entire platform behind why Odyssey even stands today, to open conversation. This brings me to my point.

“Stopping the hate” actually starts with you.

The whole purpose of America's party system is to allow for the sharing of opinions and to exercise the democracy our country's first men bled for. The party system allows for individuals to declare their perspective, but there is a reason we've always had at least two parties (if you don't count the Era of Good Feelings, which, shockingly, didn’t last long). Close-mindedness doesn't allow for growth. It's why we separated ourselves from Britain, and it's why we identify our government to be democratic. Unlike close-mindedness, open-mindedness allows us to find the value in opposing sides and to create solutions that are more comprehensive than if we were to dream them up on our own. Believe it or not, the party system, when being used correctly, should have a unifying effect on society instead of a divisive one. A party is nothing more than an opinion. Just to review, for eligible U.S. voters that seem to have forgotten the basics from school: an opinion cannot be right nor wrong, and if you don't have something nice to say, then don't say anything at all.

If you’re fed up with the “hate” in American society, you are not as helpless as you might think. If you are willing to #prayforpeace, then you should be willing to start first by checking your own Facebook.

-Have you attacked others for their opinions regarding the election?

-Have you treated their perspective as something without merit or value?

-Have you supported a hostile political environment?

-Have you missed an opportunity to challenge your understanding of the world around you by really listening to what others have to say?

If you’ve answered “yes” to any of these questions, you may be contributing to America’s first and foremost, number one problem, close-mindedness.

This struck me as a problem just the other night as I watched the unfolding of the Democratic National Convention. I was shocked to watch the President of the United States and the First Lady mount that stage to outwardly endorse a democratic candidate in deterrence of another. I asked my dad why they were even speaking at all, and he answered, explaining that Barrack Obama is a democratic president, along with the support of his wife. I found that a hard concept to swallow. Should the President of the United States, once he/she becomes the President of the United States, be able to outwardly display on which side they stand? Is it not the duty of our elected official to represent all of the American people, and show respect for the opinions and values each holds? Barrack Obama is entitled to his opinion and the policies he wishes to practice in office, but the best leadership is leadership that allows for collaboration across differences and can create solution from division. Outwardly defending one candidate while denouncing another doesn’t sound like the correct use of the party system, and although we are not faced with the greatest options for Decision 2016, perhaps this should be a quality we keep in mind when we go back candidate shopping in four years.

Unfortunately, the division created by the party system was a problem even the first President of the United States saw coming from centuries away. Fortunately, he left words in which we might find greater wisdom in now:

“The unity of government which constitutes you one people is also now dear to you. It is justly so, for it is a main pillar in the edifice of your real independence, the support of your tranquility at home, your peace abroad; of your safety; of your prosperity; of that very liberty which you so highly prize. But as it is easy to foresee that, from different causes and from different quarters, much pains will be taken, many artifices employed to weaken in your minds the conviction of this truth; as this is the point in your political fortress against which the batteries of internal and external enemies will be most constantly and actively (though often covertly and insidiously) directed, it is of infinite moment that you should properly estimate the immense value of your national union to your collective and individual happiness; that you should cherish a cordial, habitual, and immovable attachment to it; accustoming yourselves to think and speak of it as of the palladium of your political safety and prosperity; watching for its preservation with jealous anxiety; discountenancing whatever may suggest even a suspicion that it can in any event be abandoned; and indignantly frowning upon the first dawning of every attempt to alienate any portion of our country from the rest, or to enfeeble the sacred ties which now link together the various parts.” – George Washington.

How our candidates for 2016 decide to act is outside of our control, but I find it atrocious that while schools work tirelessly to educate students in America how to be respectful of differences, and that bullying isn't an acceptable way to treat other human beings, those same students can easily walk home, turn on the TV, and watch supposed adults destroy that notion with their words and actions.

But you, your behavior is completely in your own hands. So by all means, exercise your freedom of speech, but do not forget your rights only extend to the point where they infringe on the rights of others. Don't just teach, but show the younger generations of America how we act as a nation when we face challenges, whether they be political, racial, or international. Be respectful when you comment or remark on the perspectives of others and do your best to keep an open mind to see their value.

In short, let's grow up America.

[Feel free to comment, but again, if you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all.]